Author's Note: Hello there! Because there are so many characters in this fan fiction, I'm going to write the Allegiances of the Clans, like they do in real warriors books. That would make this author's note really long if I put it in here, so I'll post it on my profile instead. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or anything that has to do with it.

Chapter One: The Apprentices of ThunderClan

Branchpaw stood alone in the sandy hollow, not far from ThunderClan's camp. His flanks heaved as he panted for breath. Sweat made his pelt slick after an intense round of training. The strong green-leaf sun only made him tire more quickly, yet he still felt full of energy. He felt as though he could run for miles, defeat any ShadowClan warrior there was. Our enemies should beware, he thought triumphantly. There's no way ThunderClan will lose if I'm fighting!

He paused as he attempted to catch his breath. The sun had nearly reached its peak, shining a white-gold light down on the forest. The leaves shone like emeralds, the sky like sapphires. Branchpaw's mottled brown pelt glowed richly in the sunlight, reminding him just how much he looked like his father, Tigerfang. The senior warrior was an excellent hunter and an even better fighter, a real asset to ThunderClan. Branchpaw was pleased that he resembled his father so much. I want to be just like him when I'm a warrior!

Suddenly, Branchpaw heard the sound of pawsteps thumping on the ground. He whirled around, his imagination running ahead of him. A ShadowClan warrior? He tensed his muscles, dropping into a crouch and unsheathing his claws. Wait for it, wait for it...

A dark ginger shape appeared at the edge of the training hollow.

Now!

Branchpaw dashed forward with a battle cry and hurled himself on the newcomer. The she-cat let out a yowl as he rolled her over, his claws pricking her pelt. She went limp for a moment, then surged upward with an angry cry, her back paws thrusting into his belly. Gasping in surprise, he jumped back and flattened himself to the ground.

"I surrender!" he cried.

"You mouse-brain!" snapped Vixenpaw, sitting back and licking one paw. "What was that about? You got my fur all dirty!" She drew her paw over her ears, glaring at her brother as she did so.

"Sorry," he said, his hackles falling. "I got a bit carried away."

"No kidding," his sister muttered, still looking annoyed. "What were you doing here without Graywhisker anyway?" she asked, referring to his mentor.

"He said I could have a day off from training," Branchpaw explained. "I rested in camp all morning, but I got bored after a while. So I asked him if I could come here on my own for some extra battle practice."

"How can you practice by yourself?" Vixenpaw asked dubiously.

He flicked some sand off her nose with his tail. "I imagined that I was fighting ShadowClan warriors," he said.

"No wonder you jumped on me like a mouse-brained fool," she scoffed. "Couldn't you tell that I was a ThunderClan cat? Do you ever think before you act?"

"Yes," he said, feeling thoroughly miffed. "It was your fault for interrupting me in the middle of battle practice. That's like walking into a badger's den and expecting it not to attack you."

"So you're admitting that you're like a badger?" she said, looking gleeful. "I always knew you smelled like one."

"Hey!" Branchpaw complained.

"Okay, truce," said Vixenpaw. "I interrupted you because Graywhisker sent me to fetch you. There's a Clan meeting going on back at camp and he didn't want you to miss it."

"Right now?" he gasped. "Let's go, then!" Without waiting for his sister to reply, he dashed out of the sandy hollow, running along the path in the woods. The trail was well-worn from the pawprints of countless warriors and apprentices on their way to training. There were so many overlapping scents that it was hard to distinguish one from the other, but they all smelled of ThunderClan and family.

Branchpaw let the soft, green-leaf breeze rush over him, cooling him down from his training session. He loved running through the forest, especially when he was alone, because it made him feel like a true warrior of ThunderClan. He knew that his sister was only a few pawsteps behind, but he right now he couldn't hear her or see her and he felt truly free.

The camp wasn't far from the training hollow and Branchpaw reached it sooner than he wanted to. He slowed his pace as he entered, trying not to shower grit on any warriors standing nearby as he went down the slope into the ravine. He reached the bottom just as Vixenpaw appeared at the top. As she entered, the two of them went to sit beside Flamepaw, their brother.

"Did we miss anything?" Branchpaw whispered. He eyed the ring of warriors who sat around the camp, his gaze lingering for a moment on his dark-pelted father and his bright-furred mother, Gingerpelt. Both of them were looking at Cloudfur, the white and gray queen, and her kits, Icekit and Stormkit. The gentle she-cat was positively shining with pride, a purr rumbling in her throat.

"No," said Flamepaw, his eyes fixed on the leader of the Clan, Falconstar. The dark gray tabby was standing on the Highrock, looking down at the gathered warriors. His proud yellow gaze was fixed on the kits as well.

"Oh!" gasped Branchpaw, turning to look at Vixenpaw. "Icekit and Stormkit are becoming apprentices, aren't they?"

"Yes!" she answered, looking excited. "We're going to have new denmates!"

"It'll be weird with no one in the nursery, though," he replied in a low voice. "Cloudfur was the only queen there. It'll be empty now that she's returning to her warrior duties."

"Yes, but hush," said Flamepaw, flicking his striped ginger tail across his brother's mouth. "Falconstar is about to begin the ceremony."

Branchpaw was quiet then, shuffling his paws quickly before becoming still. The murmuring of the warriors ceased as they all looked up at Falconstar, wondering who would mentor the new apprentices.

"The Clan has gathered today to welcome two new apprentices," began Falconstar, in a voice of great dignity. "Stormkit, please stand forward."

The mottled gray kit stepped forward, swallowing nervously. Despite the way his paws trembled, excitement lit his green gaze as he stared up at the Clan leader.

"Stormkit," said Falconstar. "From this moment on, until you complete your warrior training, you will be known as Stormpaw."

"Stormpaw, Stormpaw!" the cats called, welcoming the new apprentice.

"Rosethorn," Falconstar continued when the chanting faded. He looked down at the dark brown she-cat. "You are a skilled hunter and a noble warrior. It is time you had your first apprentice. I expect that your patience and understanding will be valuable to you as you pass on all your knowledge to Stormpaw. Make him a warrior that ThunderClan will be proud of."

"Yes, Falconstar," said Rosethorn, stepping forward to greet her new apprentice. Her green eyes shone as she touched noses with the little gray cat.

"Icekit!" called Falconstar, as Rosethorn rejoined the circle, this time with Stormpaw at her side. The two sat beside Pineclaw, Rosethorn's brother, who looked proud of his littermate. "Please step forward."

Icekit looked like she wanted to leap into the center of the circle, but restrained the urge and walked forward with dignity. She had groomed her mottled white pelt until it shone, but the fur on her back still stuck up a little. Branchpaw suppressed a purr of amusement.

"From this moment onward, until you become a full warrior of ThunderClan, you shall be known as Icepaw."

"Icepaw, Icepaw!" the Clan echoed loudly.

"Tigerfang," Falconstar said. Branchpaw twisted around to look at his father in surprise. The mottled brown warrior stepped forward, his amber eyes unusually warm as he looked at his new apprentice. "You shall train Icepaw to become a warrior. Pass on your exceptional fighting skill to this young cat and teach her everything that you know."

"You can count on me, Falconstar," rumbled the large warrior, padding forward to touch noses with Icepaw. The new apprentice had to stretch up to reach Tigerfang's muzzle, but her blue eyes shone with happiness.

"Stormpaw, Icepaw!" the Clan chanted again as the ceremony came to a close.

Branchpaw looked at his littermates as the crowd began to disperse. "Tigerfang didn't mention that he was getting an apprentice," he meowed.

"He probably didn't want to spoil the surprise," said Vixenpaw. "If he mentioned it, Icepaw and Stormpaw might have overheard. It's a good thing they didn't know about the ceremony; you should have seen the looks on their faces when they figured out what the Clan meeting was for."

"Yeah," said Flamepaw, but he seemed lost in thought. Branchpaw didn't ask him about it; it wasn't uncommon for something to grab his brother's attention without warning. He left his sibling standing where they were and approached Graywhisker.

"Congratulations," he mewed. Graywhisker was Cloudfur's mate, and therefore Icepaw and Stormpaw's father. His mentor's yellow eyes were glowing with pride.

"Thanks," said the gray warrior with a purr. "It's interesting that I mentor Tigerfang's kit and he mentors mine."

Branchpaw blinked. He hadn't even made the connection before. "Yeah, I suppose," he said. He looked over to where Icepaw and Tigerfang were standing. The mottled white apprentice was looking up at her mentor with an excited expression, as though he were telling her something amazing. Branchpaw felt a small pang of envy, but he pushed it away. He didn't get to spend that much time with his father and the brown warrior would have even less time for his son while he was training an apprentice. He tried not to feel jealous. "That's great."

Graywhisker purred again and flicked Branchpaw over the ears good-naturedly with his tail, before padding away to congratulate his kits on their apprenticeship. Branchpaw watched him go, lost in thought.

"So," said a voice behind him. "Two new denmates, huh?"

Branchpaw jumped in surprise, then whirled around to face the cat who had spoken to him. It was a small black tom with glowing green eyes. There was an amused and somewhat mischievous expression on his face.

"Blackpaw," said Branchpaw, relief warming him to his paws. "Don't sneak up on me like that. You're lucky I didn't cry out, or the Clan might have thought enemy warriors had invaded."

"Sorry," said the older apprentice, not looking the least bit apologetic. "I just wanted to speak with you." He tipped his head to one side, his falsely innocent tone telling Branchpaw that he wanted to stir up trouble.

"What about?" the mottled brown tom asked warily.

"Your father," said Blackpaw, angling his ears toward Tigerfang. "He doesn't pay you much attention, does he?"

These words were too close to what Branchpaw was thinking for comfort. "That's none of your business!" he snapped, feeling hot. Blackpaw's tone of fake sympathy made him angry. "Just because the Clan leader is your mentor doesn't make you any better than me!"

"I didn't say that," said Blackpaw. "I'm only saying that your father would rather spend time with his apprentice than you."

Branchpaw felt his fur bristle. "Shut up!" he hissed.

"There's no need to be so aggressive," said Blackpaw. "After all, we're on the same side, aren't we? Both apprentices of ThunderClan?"

"That doesn't mean I have to like you," he growled. "You little-"

Gingerpelt padded over to join them before he could finish. Her green eyes glowed with disapproval. "You aren't fighting, are you?" she asked.

"No," muttered Branchpaw, looking at the ground and scuffing his paws. Blackpaw's eyes glittered with malicious delight. The fur on the back of Branchpaw's neck began to stand on end, but before he could snap something rude, the black-furred apprentice turned and walked away to speak with Stormpaw.

Branchpaw watched him go, feeling very frustrated. It was hard to speak his mind to the older apprentice, who tormented him with ease and made him so flustered that his tongue felt tied in knots whenever he tried to utter a good comeback. Gingerpelt still stood quietly beside him, observing the scene without comment. When he turned to look at the warrior-queen, he saw that she was looking thoughtful.

"What is it?" he asked. At times, he could see where Flamepaw got his quiet, almost philosophical personality from.

"I was just thinking that you seem to be a little on edge these days," she said. "You wander around absentmindedly, like your head is in the clouds, and now you're picking fights with your Clanmates."

"I didn't start that," he mewed, flushing with embarrassment. "It was all Blackpaw's fault."

"Hmm," his mother said. "Well, whether it seems like it or not, your Clanmates will respect you one day. Even the ones who you don't particularly get along with. All you have to do is work hard to serve your Clan and have a little patience."

"I know," Branchpaw sighed. "But sometimes it's hard to remember that."

"Believe me, I understand," said Gingerpelt, touching her nose to his ear. "It often seemed like none of the older apprentices or warriors took me seriously when I was in training. I was constantly trying to show them what I could do, but it took a long time before they started to notice me. It'll happen eventually. You'll prove your worth to them someday."

Not just to Blackpaw, thought Branchpaw, with a sidelong glance at his father. One day, I'll be a great warrior. One day, I'll make my father proud. One day, I'll show Tigerfang just how much I'm worth.